An interior of a vehicle, such as an automobile, may include an instrument panel assembly. The instrument panel assembly may include components such as a glove box, knee bolster, etc. During a front end impact of the vehicle, an occupant of the vehicle may move forward and may impact one or more components of the instrument panel assembly, e.g., the glove box, knee bolster, etc. Vehicles may be scored by a variety standardized impact tests from organizations such as the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA). For example, femur load capacity and body displacement during collision may be tested. The components of the instrument panel assembly, e.g., the glove box, knee bolster, etc., may be designed to absorb energy from the occupant during the impact.
Vehicle occupants vary in size and the varying size affects the magnitude of impact force of the occupant against the component, e.g., the glove box, knee bolster, etc., during an impact. Standardized tests may, for example, test impact against the component, e.g., the glove box, knee bolster, etc., from an occupant of the size of a 95% male occupant, i.e., a relatively large occupant, and may also test impact against the component from an occupant of the size of a 5% female occupant, i.e., a relatively small occupant. This difference in the size of the occupant creates competing design factors that favor relatively stiff components, e.g., the glove box, knee bolster, etc., for absorbing energy from large occupants and favor relatively flexible components, e.g., the glove box, knee bolster, etc., for absorbing energy from small occupants. In other words, a stiff component may absorb energy from the large occupant without “bottoming out” on a frame of the instrument panel assembly, but may be too stiff to adequately absorb energy from a small occupant at the initial impact against the component. On the other hand, a flexible component may absorb energy from a small occupant beginning with initial impact against the component, but may not adequately absorb energy from a large occupant at the end of the impact event. Therefore, there remains an opportunity to design a component that may absorb energy from an occupants of varying size.